World's Developed and Emerging Equity Markets Fall in August

"Global equity markets continued their dramatic decline that began in mid-May, decreasing investor net-worth in August by $0.8 trillion," says Howard Silverblatt, Senior Index Analyst at Standard & Poor's and author of the report. "Year-to-date through August, investor net worth has declined by $6.4 trillion."

Emerging markets posted their fourth monthly loss in a row (six out of eight for 2008) declining 7.09% in August. The three-month toll is now -19.40%, with the 12-month period now posting a -7.27% decline. Onlythe Philippines (+1.68%) andThailand (+0.90%) managed to produce positive gains in August.Pakistan declined 20.57% as political unrest continued, while Russia declined 15.23%. Developed equity markets (-1.56%) did not fare much better in August as onlythe United States (+1.54%) andthe Netherlands (+0.85%) produced positive returns during the month.

Six of the ten GICS sectors declined in August as Materials posted a -6.99% return. Consumer Discretionary in the U.S. rebounded to produce a return of 1.89%, but the ex/U.S. component of the group was off 1.99% for the month.

Growth and Value were both down in August, but performance was split by region. Growth's overall 1.60% decline during the month was the result of a 6.63% drop in the Asian Pacific market and a 1.46% gain in the North American region. Value saw similar results, declining 1.50% during the month withAsia Pacific down 4.46% andNorth America up 0.92%.

"U.S. decoupling, which was generally accepted late last year/early this year, has now been reversed with pundits again speaking about size, leadership, and the American economy's ability to ride out the storm."

    The World by Numbers for August can be accessed in full by going to:
www.worldbynumbers.standardandpoors.com. In addition, a table showing the
performance of the S&P/Citigroup BMI Index can be found at the conclusion of
this release.

                       S&P/Citigroup BMI Total Returns*
                                 August - 08

                                 1-Month %       3-Months %    12-Months %

    France                         -3.01           -14.68        -12.96
    Germany                        -5.90           -14.53         -9.54
    Japan                          -4.16           -13.60        -15.92
    United Kingdom                 -3.01           -12.76        -17.25
    United States                   1.54            -7.40         -9.78

    Asia Pacific                   -4.45           -17.39        -15.87
    Europe                        -13.74           -26.40        -10.21
    North America                   1.20            -7.89         -8.91
    Dev. World                     -1.56           -11.55        -12.09

    Brazil                        -10.04           -24.38         21.50
    China                          -7.82           -17.76        -19.80
    India                          -1.35           -15.19        -10.83
    Russia                        -15.23           -33.30        -11.23
    South Africa                   -4.51           -11.25         -8.18
    Taiwan                         -1.35           -18.39        -16.29

    Emerging Markets               -7.09           -19.40         -7.27


    *Country returns in $US
    Source: Standard & Poor's
    Data as of: 8/31/08

About Standard & Poor's Index Services

Standard & Poor's Index Services, the world's leading index provider, maintains a wide variety of investable and benchmark indices to meet an array of investor needs. Its family of indices includes the S&P 500, an index with $1.5 trillion invested and $4.85 trillion benchmarked, and the S&P Global 1200, a composite index comprised of seven regional and country headline indices. For more information, please visit www.standardandpoors.com/indices.

About Standard & Poor's

Standard & Poor's, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP), is the world's foremost provider of financial market intelligence, including independent credit ratings, indices, risk evaluation, investment research and data. With approximately 8,500 employees, including wholly owned affiliates, located in 23 countries and markets, Standard & Poor's is an essential part of the world's financial infrastructure and has played a leading role for more than 140 years in providing investors with the independent benchmarks they need to feel more confident about their investment and financial decisions. For more information, visit http://www.standardandpoors.com.

SOURCE Standard & Poor's

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